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Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial MarketsE2open to Report Fiscal Third Quarter 2025 ResultsNEW YORK (AP) — Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare killer got underway for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. One conclusion they are confident of, however: It was a , not a random one. They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. They know ammunition found near Thompson’s body “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by . The fact that the shooter knew UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson might take to get there suggested that he could possibly be a disgruntled employee or client, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. Police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any and found his backpack there Friday. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. On Sunday morning, police declined to comment on the contents of the backpack, or on the results of the search in the pond, saying no updates were planned. Investigators have urged patience, saying the process of logging evidence that stands up in court isn’t as quick as it . Hundreds of detectives are combing through video recordings and social media, vetting tips from the public and interviewing people who might have information, including Thompson’s family and coworkers and the shooter’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed. Investigators caught a break when they came across security camera images of an unguarded moment at the hostel in which he briefly showed his face. Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, police say, it appears he left the city by bus soon after the shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later, Kenny said. With the high-profile search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone. Police distributed the images to news outlets and on social media but so far haven’t been able to ID him using facial recognition — possibly because of the angle of the images or limitations on how the NYPD is allowed to use that technology, Kenny said. Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspected shooter that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask. Michael R. Sisak And Cedar Attanasio, The Associated Press

A “mystery disease” recently struck the south-western corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), killing between 67 and 143 people over two weeks . The disease was reported to cause flu-like symptoms of fever, headache, cough and anaemia. An epidemiologist told Reuters that it was mainly women and children who were seriously affected by the disease. But little else is known about the disease so far. Health officials in the DRC are urgently investigating this incident to identify the cause of this deadly outbreak. Initially, they would consider possible diseases known to be endemic to the region such as malaria, dengue or Chikungunya . However, they are likely to face difficulties detecting the cause because of diagnostic testing infrastructure issues , as well as difficulties with sample collections, transport of those samples to laboratory and testing. In low-income countries, such as the DRC, many clinical laboratories can only test for common pathogens. Limitations in the quality and performance of some of their clinical laboratories are also a problem. If it is not one of the usual suspects, the detection of rarer pathogens often requires samples to be sent to more specialist laboratories that can do specialised tests, such as gene sequencing. This could mean that samples need to be sent to laboratories abroad. However, the international sharing of such biological samples is highly contentious over concerns that the benefits of doing so are often not fairly shared between countries. Another priority for local health officials is to understand the extent and severity of the outbreak. The high mortality and number of cases of people affected are alarming. However, it is not easy to work out the true extent of such outbreaks, as not all infected patients will be detected. Not all infected people seek care. Clinics may be few and far between, especially in remote areas, and are often understaffed. Indeed, the DRC has fewer than two doctors per 10,000 population (by comparison the UK which has more than 31 doctors per 10,000 population). Even if patients did attend a hospital or clinic, not all infections would be diagnosed. Not all patients would be tested for infection, and not all detected infections are reported to the health authorities. The lack of information about the cause, extent and number of infected people makes it hard to accurately assess the threat it poses. But this is not an isolated risk. Outbreaks of new infectious diseases have occurred regularly over the years . This is partly driven by climate change, changing population demography, urbanisation and deforestation that enables the “spillover” of infections from animals to humans. Unfortunately, our global infectious disease radar is broken. Disease surveillance is fragmented globally . In poorer countries, there will be many areas where diseases are not detected or are detected late. Surveillance services are often poorly resourced and understaffed, staff often lack training or supervision, and reporting may not be standardised. There is also often a significant delay from the time a person gets infected, and is diagnosed with the disease, to the time it is reported to the public health authorities . This in turn delays disease control responses to outbreaks. These problems are worse in resource-poor settings, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. What solutions are being tried? One World Health Organization (WHO) initiative being trialled in several countries across Africa, South America and south Asia, is the 7-1-7 initiative . This sets aspirational targets for outbreaks of infectious diseases to be detected within seven days, notified to public health authorities within a day, and seven days to complete an initial response. This is a laudable aim but it may still be too late for fast-moving outbreaks. Another solution is to better integrate and better coordinate existing surveillance activities and systems. One such WHO initiative is Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR), which has mainly been deployed in Africa over the past two decades. IDSR has had mixed success so far. A recent review found information technology system issues, financial constraints and data-sharing problems, as well as workforce gaps. Other global initiatives include the International Pathogen Surveillance Network brought together by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, and recent efforts to promote collaborative surveillance across different agencies and sectors (from human health to animal health and the environment) to work together and share information as well as expertise. The effectiveness of such initiatives remains to be seen, but they are a step in the right direction. Without better disease surveillance globally, we may not detect the next pandemic until it is too late. Andrew Lee has previously received research funding from the National Institute for Health Research. He is a member of the UK Faculty of Public Health and the Royal Society for Public Health, and has previously worked for Public Health England. He was previously funded by the International Association of National Public Health Institutes as a technical advisor for their global review of disease surveillance.12 Canned Foods That Will Take Your Pasta To The Next Level

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 ATLANTA (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent roughly 22 months in hospice care. The Georgia peanut farmer served one turbulent term in the White House before building a reputation as a global humanitarian and champion of democracy. He defeated President Gerald Ford in 1976 promising to restore trust in government but lost to Ronald Reagan four years later amid soaring inflation, gas station lines and the Iran hostage crisis. He and his wife Rosalynn then formed The Carter Center, and he earned a Nobel Peace Prize while making himself the most internationally engaged of former presidents. The Carter Center said he died peacefully Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’ PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — The 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, James Earl Carter Jr., died Sunday at the age of 100. His life ended where it began, in Plains, Georgia. He left and returned to the tiny town many times as he climbed to the nation’s highest office and lost it after four tumultuous years. Carter spent the next 40 years setting new standards for what a former president can do. Carter wrote nearly a decade ago that he found all the phases of his life challenging but also successful and enjoyable. The Democrat's principled but pragmatic approach defied American political labels, especially the idea that one-term presidents are failures. Jet crash disaster in South Korea marks another setback for Boeing WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, an airline consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. South Korean authorities seek warrant to detain impeached President Yoon in martial law probe SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi kill 2 and injure 6 as severe weather system moves east HOUSTON (AP) — A strong storm system is threatening to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi. Strong storms moving eastward Sunday are expected to continue producing gusty, damaging winds, hail and tornadoes through Sunday. That is according to National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira. So far, the line of severe weather has led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed until surveys of damage are completed. Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli hospital says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said his prostate was removed late Sunday and that he was recovering. Netanyahu’s office had said Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, would serve as acting prime minister during the procedure. Doctors ordered the operation after detecting an infection last week. Netanyahu is expected to remain hospitalized for several days. With so much at stake, Netanyahu’s health in wartime is a concern for both Israelis and the wider world. Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally. Aliyev told Azerbaijani state television on Sunday that the aircraft was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. He accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days. The crash on Wednesday killed 38 of 67 people on board. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev on Saturday for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility. Croatia's incumbent president gains most votes for re-election, but not enough to avoid a runoff ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s incumbent President Zoran Milanovic has swept most votes in the first round of a presidential election, but will have to face a runoff against a ruling party candidate to secure another five-year term. With 99% percent of the vote counted Sunday, Milanovic won 49% while his main challenger Dragan Primorac, a candidate of the ruling HDZ party, trailed far behind with 19%. Pre-election polls had predicted that the two would face off in the second round on Jan. 12, as none of the eight presidential election contenders were projected to get more than 50% of the vote. A fourth infant dies of the winter cold in Gaza as families share blankets in seaside tents DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fourth infant has died of hypothermia in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war are huddled in tents along the rainy, windswept coast as winter arrives. The baby's father says the 20-day-old child was found with his head as “cold as ice” Sunday morning in their tent. The baby’s twin brother was moved to the intensive care unit of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Their father says the twins were born one month premature and spent just a day in hospital, which like other Gaza health centers has been overwhelmed and only partially functions. Syria's de facto leader says it could take up to 4 years to hold elections BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s de facto leader has said it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans on dissolving his Islamist group that led the country’s insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview Sunday. That's according to the Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad’s decades-long rule, ending the country’s uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011.Geoffrey Hinton says he doesn’t regret the work he did that laid the foundations of artificial intelligence, but wishes he thought of safety sooner. The British-Canadian computer scientist often called the godfather of AI said over the weekend that he doesn’t have any guilty regret, which he said is when someone has done something when they know they shouldn’t have at the time. “In the same circumstances, I would do the same again,” he said of his research, which dates back to the 1980s and has formed the underpinnings of AI. “However, I think it might have been unfortunate in that we’re going to get superintelligence faster than I thought, and I wish I’d thought about safety earlier.” Superintelligence surpasses the abilities of even the smartest humans. Hinton thinks it could arrive in the next five to 20 years and humanity may have to “worry seriously about how we stay in control.” Hinton made his prediction during a press conference in Stockholm, where he is due to a receive the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday. Hinton, a University of Toronto professor emeritus, and co-laureate John Hopfield, a Princeton University professor, are being given the prize because they developed some of the foundations of machine learning, a computer science that helps AI mimic how humans learn. Hinton kicked off his Nobel week on Saturday with the press conference, where he appeared with laureates in chemistry and economics and was asked about AI safety and regulation. Hinton left a job at Google last year to speak more freely about the technology’s dangers, which he has said could include job losses, bias and discrimination, echo chambers, fake news, battle robots and even the end of humanity. On Saturday, he said he considers lethal autonomous weapons to be a short-term danger. “There isn’t going to be any regulation there,” he said, pointing out that European regulations have a specific clause exempting military use of AI from restrictions. “Governments are unwilling to regulate themselves, when it comes to lethal autonomous weapon, and there is an arms race going on between all the major arms suppliers like the United States, China, Russia, Britain, Israel and possibly even Sweden, though I don’t know.” A day later, Hinton put his concerns about AI aside to deliver a lecture with Hopfield explaining the research that earned them their Nobel. “Today I am going to do something very foolish.” Hinton said in introducing his portion of the pair’s hour-long speech. “I am going to try and describe a complicated technical idea for a general audience without using any equations.” The audience chuckled. The talk began with Hopfield describing a network he invented that could store and reconstruct images in data. It led Hinton to later create the Boltzmann machine, which learns from examples, rather than instructions, and when trained, can recognize familiar characteristics in information, even if it has not seen that data before. Hinton said students in his lab and others run by fellow AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Yann LeCun were using Boltzmann machines to pre-train neural networks — machine learning models that make decisions in a manner similar to the human brain — between 2006 and 2011. By 2009, two of Hinton’s students had showed the technique “worked a little bit better than the best existing techniques for recognizing fragments of phonemes in speech and that then changed the speech recognition community,” Hinton said. Phonemes are small units of sound that can change the meaning of a word. Google later began working on technology based on Hinton’s discoveries and “suddenly the speech recognition on the Android got a lot better.” Even though the kind of Boltzmann machines Hinton was working with back then are no longer used in the same ways as he used them, he said “they allowed us to make the transition from thinking that deep neural networks would never work to seeing that deep neural networks actually could be made to work.” Nobel Week will continue Monday with a discussion about the future of health before an awards ceremony and banquet is held Tuesday. Hinton has said he will donate a portion of the prize money — equivalent to about C$1.45 million — he and Hopfield will be given to Water First, which is working to boost Indigenous access to water, and a charity supporting neurodiverse young adults. He is also reportedly due to donate an early Boltzmann chip to the Nobel Prize Museum. The Nobel is not the only prize Hinton scooped up this month. On Friday, he, Bengio, LeCun, Chinese-American computer scientist Fei-Fei Li and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, were awarded the Vin Future Prize, a US$3 million prize for science breakthroughs in a ceremony in Vietnam. Hinton, Bengio and LeCun previously won the A.M. Turing Award, known as the Nobel Prize of computing, together in 2018. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec. 8, 2024.

Cam Carter scored LSU's first eight points and finished with a game-high 23 and LSU raced to a 37-8 lead on its way to a 110-45 victory against outmanned Mississippi Valley State on Sunday in Baton Rouge, La. Vyctorius Miller added 20 points and Jordan Sears and Daimion Collins scored 15 each for the Tigers (11-2), who led 55-13 at halftime. It was their final game before opening Southeastern Conference play against visiting Vanderbilt on Saturday. LSU, which defeated Mississippi Valley 106-60 last season, shot 65.7 percent (46 of 70) from the floor. The Delta Devils (2-11) had no player score in double figures. The closest was Alvin Stredic with eight points. Mississippi Valley State remained winless against Division I opponents and have an average margin of defeat of 44.2 points heading into their Southwestern Athletic Conference opener at Alabama State on Jan. 4. Stredic's field goal tied the score at two before Carter made a tie-breaking 3-pointer to give LSU the lead for good. Carter made another 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that increased the lead to 12-4. Another field goal by Stredic ended that run before Carter and Sears each made a 3-pointer and the Tigers pushed the lead to 20-6. Stredic made another field goal, giving him six of his team's first eight points, before Carter made a 3-pointer and another basket to help fuel a 17-0 run that enabled LSU to build the 37-8 bulge. Johnathan Pace made a field goal to stop the run, but Sears and Curtis Givens III each made a 3-pointer to complete a 10-0 run that expanded the lead to 47-10. Jair Horton answered with the Delta Devils' only 3-pointer of the half before Miller and Sears each scored four points and the Tigers led by 42 at the break. Carter (16 points) and Sears (10) combined to score twice as many points as Mississippi Valley State in the half. Carter made 6-of-10 3-pointers and Sears made 4 of 8. --Field Level MediaFormer U.S. presidents joined world leaders and others in mourning former President Jimmy Carter after his death Sunday at age 100, recalling him as a humble humanitarian and global statesman who fought for peace and democracy during his four years in the White House and in his long and active postpresidency. As news of Carter’s death at his home in Plains, Georgia, spread across the world, others who have occupied the Oval Office paid tribute to his life, saying he had been guided by his Christian faith and his dedication to charity and kindness. They remembered him not only for accomplishments in office but for his work through The Carter Center, which he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded after his presidency to promote peace, fight disease and combat social inequality. President Joe Biden, who was a first-term senator from Delaware when Carter was elected president in 1976, called Carter a “dear friend” who “saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.” “He worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us,” Biden said in a statement. He added that young Americans and “anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning” should look to Jimmy Carter. Former President Bill Clinton, who had a complicated relationship with Carter but seemed to cement his friendship with him when he awarded the Carters the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999, said in a statement that Jimmy Carter was a leader “guided by faith” who “worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.” Clinton applauded Carter for reaching a peace deal between Egypt and Israel, and for his advancement of environmental protections. He also praised Carter for his charitable works, including as a volunteer for more than 30 years for Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable housing. Even as a frail figure in his later years, Carter swung a hammer and wielded a drill on the group’s homebuilding projects, solidifying his image as a man who put his beliefs into action. Carter Dignified the Presidential Office: Bush Former President George W. Bush mentioned this work in a statement Sunday, noting that “his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency.” Bush said Carter “was a man of deeply held convictions” and “dignified” the presidential office. Former President Barack Obama recalled Carter not only for his accomplishments in diplomacy and domestic affairs but for his fundamental integrity, respect and compassion. “Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values,” Obama said in a post on the social platform Medium. “He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice and service.” Obama said hundreds of people would come to hear Carter speak on the occasional Sunday morning at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. While many came to hear an accomplished former president preach, Obama said many showed up because of “President Carter’s decency.” President-elect Donald Trump noted the “enormous responsibility” that American presidents carry and said it was a burden that only the members of the “very exclusive club” of former presidents could relate to. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” In October, Trump was the only living president or former president who did not contribute a video message to Carter for his 100th birthday. Instead, on a campaign stop in Wisconsin, Trump said Carter was happy because his presidency was successful compared with that of Biden, whom Trump deemed “the worst.” Trump and other members of the “exclusive club” that is the presidency will have a chance to gather early in the new year, when Carter’s funeral is expected to take place. This article originally appeared in .Alistair Berg Back in July of this year, one company that I decided to downgrade was packaging enterprise Ranpak Holdings Corp. ( NYSE: PACK ). Leading up to that point, I had been bullish about the firm. Since Crude Value Insights offers you an investing service and community focused on oil and natural gas. We focus on cash flow and the companies that generate it, leading to value and growth prospects with real potential. Subscribers get to use a 50+ stock model account, in-depth cash flow analyses of E&P firms, and live chat discussion of the sector. Sign up today for your two-week free trial and get a new lease on oil & gas! Daniel is an avid and active professional investor. Crude Value Insights Learn more Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. 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In your everyday life, time and space know how to behave. A kilometre is a kilometre, and an hour is an hour – no matter how late you are running. Perception is not reality. Einstein showed space and time were one thing, and it bends and warps. A decade ago, astronomers for the first time observed gravitational waves: universe-spanning ripples that move through space-time – and through us. This discovery proved to be only part of the story. Astronomers are finding our universe is so permeated by gravitational waves, the fabric of reality is constantly in flux. Australian astronomers have created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date. Credit: Carl Knox / OzGrav / Swinburne University of Technology / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory The picture that is coming into focus, says astronomer Dr Matt Miles, is one that shows the universe as a vast ocean, dark and powerful. “The Earth is really just a ship, being bounced across the waves. The universe is constantly changing size. Time is constantly changing. The Earth is just riding that wave.” In a series of papers published last week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , a group of Australian astronomers reveal the strongest evidence yet for what they call the “gravitational wave background”: the constant rippling of space-time. Einstein imagined space like a piece of stretched fabric, with stars and planets and black holes scattered across it. Their mass bends and curves the fabric. The moon orbits the Earth because it is trapped in the depression in space-time created by the Earth’s mass – it spins like a coin in a funnel. Now, on the stretched fabric of space, introduce a very heavy spinning object: a pair of super-massive black holes orbiting each other. University of Sydney researcher Dr Sean Farrell was part of an international team of astronomers which observed a star that had strayed too close to a super-massive black hole being torn apart. Credit: Ute Kraus These spinning objects create ripples that spread through the sheet: gravitational waves. As these waves pass through us, space is distorted just slightly. The Earth – and everyone on it – widens and then shrinks. Why don’t we notice? Because a fish that lives in the ocean does not notice the waves. “Waves and currents pass through the literal fabric they live in,” says Rowina Nathan, an astronomer at Monash University who co-wrote one of the papers. “It’s the same for us.” Scientists have been spotting single waves passing through Earth since 2015. The new papers show waves are rippling throughout the entire universe. The LIGO interferometer in Livingston, Louisiana, which is used to detect gravitational waves. The team took observations of pulsars, rapidly spinning remains of supernovas, which emit bursts of radiation with such regularity they can be used as cosmic lighthouses. Over almost five years, the team used the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa to measure the distance between Earth and 83 pulsars. They watched as the distances widened and shrank – by up to the size of a tennis court – revealing what Miles describes as a “cacophony of noise” from the many waves they could see. With this information, they have created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date. Exotic explanations The next question to answer: what is causing these waves? The simple answer, if you can call it that, is super-massive black hole pairs. We know they produce single waves; it is likely there are enough of them out there to set the fabric of reality constantly in motion. But there are other more exotic explanations. “The physics is a little wild,” admits Miles, an astronomer with OzGrav at Swinburne University who led two of the papers. The first is known as “cosmological phase transition”. In the moments after the Big Bang, the universe was so hot the physical forces, like electromagnetism, that govern our reality had not yet formed. Eventually, parts of the universe cooled enough for basic physics to start functioning. But – in theory – this did not happen everywhere at once. This produced regions within the early universe operating on different physical laws. As these regions – or bubbles – came into contact with each other, the different physics collapsed into symmetry, releasing huge amounts of energy – and, possibly, gravitational waves. The gravitational wave background may be the leftover ripples from the bursting of those bubbles. If that theory is not exotic enough, there’s a second: cosmic strings. When the regions of the early universe came into contact, rather than bursting, they may have created long fractures – imperfections in the fabric of space-time. “They get frozen in when the universe cooled from its very hot state. And you can’t get rid of them,” says Professor Eric Thrane, an astrophysicist at Monash University. As these long fractures move, they could also generate gravitational waves. “People really believe in these. We don’t know if we’ll ever be able to prove it,” says Miles. Gravitational waves further tell us the universe is a strange and wonderful thing. “The universe is this very exciting cosmic dance,” says Miles. “And the Earth is going along with the motions.” The Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week .

Hundreds rally for justice at JFJ’s 5K Run for RightsATLANTA , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cousins Properties Incorporated (the "Company" or "Cousins") (NYSE:CUZ) announced today that its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP (the "Operating Partnership"), has priced an offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 5.375% senior unsecured notes due 2032 at 99.463% of the principal amount. The offering is expected to close on December 17, 2024 , subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Cousins intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund a portion of the purchase price of 601 West 2nd Street, also known as Sail Tower, an 804,000 square foot trophy lifestyle office property in Austin (the "Sail Tower Acquisition"), and the remainder to repay borrowings under its credit facility and for general corporate purposes. In the event the Sail Tower Acquisition is not completed, Cousins will use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition and development of office properties, other opportunistic investments and the repayment of debt. The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Company. J.P. Morgan, Truist Securities, US Bancorp, BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley, PNC Capital Markets LLC, TD Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers. A shelf registration statement relating to these securities is effective with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York , 10179, Attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, 3rd Floor, telephone collect at 1-212-834-4533; Truist Securities, Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, 303 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308, telephone: 800-685-4786, or e-mail: TruistSecurities.prospectus@Truist.com ; or U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Attention: High Grade Syndicate, 214 North Tryon Street, 26th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202, or by telephone at: (877) 558-2607. Electronic copies of these documents are also available from the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov . This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell the notes, nor shall it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. About Cousins Properties Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT"). The Company, based in Atlanta, GA and acting through the Operating Partnership, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments. Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, as itemized in Item 1A included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 . These forward-looking statements include information about the Company's possible or assumed future results of the business and the Company's financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, and objectives. They also include, among other things, statements regarding subjects that are forward-looking by their nature, such as: guidance and underlying assumptions; business and financial strategy; future debt financings; future acquisitions and dispositions of operating assets or joint venture interests; future acquisitions and dispositions of land, including ground leases; future acquisitions of investments in real estate debt; future development and redevelopment opportunities; future issuances and repurchases of common stock, limited partnership units, or preferred stock; future distributions; projected capital expenditures; market and industry trends; future occupancy or volume and velocity of leasing activity; entry into new markets, changes in existing market concentrations, or exits from existing markets; future changes in interest rates and liquidity of capital markets; and all statements that address operating performance, events, investments, or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to creating value for stockholders. Any forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of our future performance, taking into account information that is currently available. These beliefs, assumptions, and expectations may change as a result of possible events or factors, not all of which are known. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements due to, but not limited to, the following: the availability and terms of capital and our ability to obtain and maintain financing arrangements on terms favorable to us or at all; the ability to refinance or repay indebtedness as it matures; any changes to our credit rating; the failure of purchase, sale, or other contracts to ultimately close; the failure to achieve anticipated benefits from acquisitions, developments, investments, or dispositions; the effect of common stock or operating partnership unit issuances, including those undertaken on a forward basis, which may negatively affect the market price of our common stock; the availability of buyers and pricing with respect to the disposition of assets; changes in national and local economic conditions, the real estate industry, and the commercial real estate markets in which we operate (including supply and demand changes), particularly in Atlanta , Austin , Tampa , Charlotte , Phoenix , Dallas , and Nashville , including the impact of high unemployment, volatility in the public equity and debt markets, and international economic and other conditions; threatened terrorist attacks or sociopolitical unrest such as political instability, civil unrest, armed hostilities, or political activism, which may result in a disruption of day-to-day building operations; changes to our strategy in regard to our real estate assets may require impairment to be recognized; leasing risks, including the ability to obtain new tenants or renew expiring tenants, the ability to lease newly-developed and/or recently acquired space, the failure of a tenant to commence or complete tenant improvements on schedule or to occupy leased space, and the risk of declining leasing rates; changes in the preferences of our tenants brought about by the desire for co-working arrangements, trends toward utilizing less office space per employee, and the effect of employees working remotely; any adverse change in the financial condition or liquidity of one or more of our tenants or borrowers under our real estate debt investments; volatility in interest rates (including the impact upon the effectiveness of forward interest rate contract arrangements) and insurance rates; inflation; competition from other developers or investors; the risks associated with real estate developments (such as zoning approval, receipt of required permits, construction delays, cost overruns, and leasing risk); supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and increased construction costs; risks associated with security breaches through cyberattacks, cyber intrusions or otherwise, as well as other significant disruptions of our information technology networks and related systems, which support our operations and our buildings; changes in senior management, changes in the Company's board of directors, and the loss of key personnel; the potential liability for uninsured losses, condemnation, or environmental issues; the potential liability for a failure to meet regulatory requirements, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws or the impact of any investigation regarding the same; the financial condition and liquidity of, or disputes with, joint venture partners; any failure to comply with debt covenants under debt instruments and credit agreements; any failure to continue to qualify for taxation as a real estate investment trust or meet regulatory requirements; potential changes to state, local, or federal regulations applicable to our business; material changes in dividend rates on common shares or other securities or the ability to pay those dividends; potential changes to the tax laws impacting real estate investment trusts and real estate in general; risks associated with climate change and severe weather events, as well as the regulatory efforts intended to reduce the effects of climate changes and investor and public perception of our efforts to respond to the same; the impact of newly adopted accounting principles on our accounting policies and on period-to-period comparisons of financial results; risks associated with possible federal, state, local, or property tax audits; and those additional risks and environmental or other factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and the Company does not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts Roni Imbeaux Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations 404-407-1104 rimbeaux@cousins.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cousins-properties-announces-pricing-of-senior-notes-offering-302330787.html SOURCE Cousins Properties